Grants and schemes for first home buyers worth $50K-plus

When you're buying your first property the first hurdle to clear is saving a home loan deposit. But it's not the only cost that can pile on the dollars and make your first home seem out of reach. Thankfully, there are plenty of grants and schemes to help first home buyers with those costs.

FEDERAL SCHEMES

To save a 20% deposit, which banks would prefer, you'll need to squirrel away 6 figures' in savings. Although there are loan options for first home buyers with less than a 20% deposit, this typically means paying thousands or tens of thousands of dollars in lender's mortgage insurance.

The Federal Government offers schemes that help first home buyers avoid both LMI and the 20% deposit.

The First Home Guarantee:

This scheme helps eligible first home buyers buy with a deposit as low as 5%, as long as you have the income to support the larger loan size. The federal government would act as a guarantor on the loan. On a $700,000 purchase price, this means a deposit of $35,000. There are property value caps, but other eligibility like income have been scrapped.

The Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee:

Similar to the scheme above, but buyers must be buying in a regional area. They must have lived in the regional area or adjacent regional area for at least 12 months prior to a home loan agreement.

The First Home Super Saver Scheme:

You can withdraw up to $50,000 of your voluntary super contributions to use as a deposit. You'll earn a higher return than in a savings account and you'll pay less tax!

Assuming you have your deposit sorted and you've looked into the above opportunities to get a leg up, what is available for you in each state?

NSW

• $10,000 when building a new home under the First Home Owner (New Homes) Grant. The value of the property must be $600,000 or under, or $750,000 for a house-and-land package.
• The First Home Buyers Assistance scheme provides first-time buyers in NSW with stamp duty exemptions, which could save you tens of thousands of dollars. You'll get:
  • A full exemption when purchasing a new or existing home up to $800,000.
  • A discount when purchasing between $800,001 and $1 million.
  • If you buy vacant land under $350,000, you'll pay no stamp duty. You'll receive a discount if it's between $350,000 and $450,000.

VICTORIA

• $10,000 First Home Owner Grant is available to eligible applicants buying or building a new home valued at up to $750,000.
• Victoria's stamp duty discounts are available up to $750,000. First home buyers purchasing a new or established home valued below $600,000 will be exempt from paying stamp duty altogether, while buyers of homes priced between $600,001 and $750,000 are eligible for a stamp duty concession, applied on a sliding scale.

QUEENSLAND

• The Queensland first home owner grant now offers a generous $30,000 to first-time owners buying or building a new home on homes priced at up to $750,000.
• There is also stamp duty relief available, which was boosted as of 1 May 2025: Queensland's first home buyer stamp duty exemption is available for first home buyers who commit to buying a new home to live in or land to build on. There's no cap on the property value.
• If you're buying an existing property, you could still get a full exemption if your property is priced less than $700,000. Properties priced between $700,001 and $800,000 will receive a discount on a sliding scale.

SOUTH AUSTRALIA

• The first home owner grant of $15,000 is available when you buy or build a brand new home that you must live in.
• You'll also get a 100% stamp duty waiver. You may be eligible for both stamp duty relief and the grant.

TASMANIA

• Tasmania's first home owner grant offers $10,000. It must be a new home or you're entering a contract to build.
• Buyers of established homes under $750,000 can also get a 100% exemption from stamp duty.

CANBERRA

• The ACT offers no first home owner grants to its residents.
• The first home buyer concession for stamp duty has been replaced by the home buyer concession, which is available for anyone buying property regardless of whether it's their first. Eligibility depends on combined income and number of dependent children. The more dependents you have, the higher your income threshold is to be eligible. If you meet the relevant threshold and you buy property priced at less than $1,000,000, you will pay $0 stamp duty. Above that property price you will receive a discount.

NORTHERN TERRITORY

• The Northern Territory offers a huge $50,000 First Home Owner Grant for first time buyers who are buying or building a brand new home. There's also a $10,000 First Home Owner Grant available to eligible applicants who buy an established home. There are no value caps on the properties you buy or build and no income restrictions. You must live in the property for at least 12 months after possession.
• There are also no stamp duty discounts specifically for first home buyers, but there is a stamp duty exemption in the NT for those buying a house-and-land package.

WESTERN AUSTRALIA

• A grant of $10,000 is available when buying or building a new home in WA, with some (literal) lines in the sand around eligibility.
• Properties located south of the 26th parallel south latitude must be priced at less than $750,000 to qualify. Properties north of the 26th parallel south latitude can be valued at up to $1 million.
• The First Home Owner Rate of Duty also provides stamp duty exemptions when purchasing established homes valued at less than $500,000 and vacant land less than $350,000. There are discounts for established properties up to $750,000 and vacant land up to $450,000 but it depends on location.

Frequently asked questions about first home buyer schemes

• Am I eligible for first home buyer help?

  Each state and territory has its own rules and eligibility criteria around first home buyer support. You'll need to check your state or territory criteria to find out if you're eligible. We've covered it briefly in this guide but you should always confirm the more specific details before applying. Whether you can get a grant or stamp duty relief depends often depends on income and property prices, but not everywhere.

• What if I'm not eligible for my state or territory's first home buyer support?

  If you're not eligible for first home buyer support offered by your state or territory, you should check the federal government incentives as well. These are more designed to help you get onto the property ladder with a lower deposit.

  If you're not eligible for any of these schemes, you might want to consider where you're buying your property or the type of property you're buying to see if that helps you become eligible.

• What is the first home owners grant?

  The first home owners grant was introduced by the federal government to give first home buyers cash support. Although it was a federal government initiative, it's managed by the individual states and territories. Each state and territory will have different grant amounts and different eligibility criteria. The ACT is currently the only location that does not offer a grant.

Written by

Sarah Megginson

Personal finance expert + media spokesperson

With over 20 years of experience in property, finance and investment journalism, Sarah is a trusted expert whose insights regularly appear across television, radio, and print media, including Sunrise, ABC News, and Yahoo! Finance. She has previously served as managing editor for Your Investment Property and Australian Broker, and her expert advice has been shared in the media over 3,500 times since 2023 alone. Sarah holds a Bachelor’s degree in Communications and a Tier 1 Generic Knowledge certification, which complies with ASIC standards. See full bio

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